The Girl In My Dreams
by Golden Butterfly of Atlantis
Summary: It was at that moment that I realized something I hadn't completely understood before. Max wasn't normal by any standards. She was overly zealous about the wrong things in life, but it was more than that. She wasn't just a person not to be messed with, she was dangerous. I liked dangerous.
1. In Flesh

**These first four chapters have been written by The Moon Is Forever. I have adopted it. I hope you enjoy the chapters afterwards as much as you like these first ones.**

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**Fang POV**

_I stared at the girl in front of me. She had deep, secretive brown eyes and honey blond hair streaked with chocolate brown. Her gaze was cold, hard, _unforgiving_. She opened her mouth to speak and-_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I woke with a start, temporarily forgetting _the girl_. I groggily turned my head towards my shrieking alarm clock and slammed my fist down on the clock. It shut up contently, while I on the other hand, collapsed back on my bed in exhaustion. That dream… it kept coming back. And no matter how much I slept in, no matter how much I willed it to be finished, the ending would never come. All I ever got to see was her reproachful eyes, but I never heard her voice.

_It's just a dream, _I scolded myself.

Gazing once more at my alarm clock, I got the found the awful realization that I _had_ slept in. Damn alarm clock. It never did anything right. Jumping off the bed, I slid on some black jeans over my boxers and my signature black shirt.

I ran down stairs, slung the backpack I had prepared the night before over my shoulder, and grabbed my breakfast burrito from a startled mom.

"Bye, Mom!" I called and jumped into my black jeep. Turning the key in the ignition, I mentally cursed. Okay, maybe it was aloud too, but only when I was far enough away from mom. I had a chance at being late on the first day back from spring break, and that wasn't a title I particularly wanted.

Going much more than 'a little' over the speed limit, I made it to school with time to spare. I parked in an open space and got out, grinning. No tardy Fang today.

I felt people nearing me and I dropped the grin. I was the emotionless Fang, so no being happy. But honestly, being emotionless is better than a title of 'the crier' or 'the lunatic', so I was content with being a brick wall.

"Hey man." A hand clapped on my back. "How have you been? It's been forever!"

I rolled my eyes. "Spring break was only a week, Iggy." I turned to face my best friend, Iggy. He was 'the drama king' to many people. He got a role in every school play, but he still managed to be thought to be cool to many people. His strawberry blond hair stood spiked on his head in its usual fashion and his blue eyes shined just as normal. His hand was clasped onto a smaller, more delicate-looking mocha-colored hand.

Nudge. Iggy's girlfriend. Mocha-skin, innocent brown eyes, and black ringlets that surrounded her head. She had one other trait worth dually noting: She could talk. And I mean _talk_.

"Humph." Iggy crossed his arms. "That's a long time away from my Fangles."

I glared, though not really meaning it. "Don't call me that."

"Oh my freak! Fang, did you hear we're getting a new student in our grade? I heard. It's so great and I heard it's a girl, too. We could totally be…" I started to tune Nudge out, knowing she'd be going on forever. Thinking over the first over her words, I had to hold in a snort. _It's a girl. _That sounds like something my Uncle Georgie would shout when the pigs on his ranch in Texas had babies. But anyway…

"And that's why purple is my favorite color." Nudge finished. I saw the shrouded look in Iggy's eyes and knew he had done the exact same thing as I had.

"It must suck. Being the new girl, I mean." I dragged the conversation back to the original point.

"Why?" Iggy was obviously back from his oblivious state.

"Because," I shrugged. "We're already half way through senior year. Wouldn't it suck to join a random school when you don't have that many months left in it."

"You're talking a lot today." Nudge stated. I hadn't realized it, but I guess I was. "Not that that's bad! I like it when you talk! It makes me know my boyfriend's best friend isn't a rock!" Nudge backtracked, willing me to keep up with this whole talking routine.

I stood still, not opening my mouth.

"Back to being a rock, then…" Nudge sighed and pulled Iggy after him to go to their 1st period.

Walking towards the school's doors, I spotted a new motorcycle I hadn't seen before. It was a shiny black, streaked with gold paint. The new girl's, it had to be. Well, I guess it wouldn't be too hard for the girl after all. We literally have a 'tough chicks with motorcycle' clique at our school – not that they call themselves that.

I arrived at my 1st class, Mr. Fitch's history class. I plopped down in my normal seat. Soon, I heard a plop next to me and internally groaned. It was one if my _admirers_. I knew it had to be.

I wasn't wrong, either; as Lissa's shrill voice intruded my peaceful thoughts. That _voice_. I want to stab it with a knife and- see? Not peaceful anymore. Now, don't get me wrong. Lissa is a nice girl. Petite, long and natural red hair, and freckles. But most of the admirers were actually nice girls, anyway. That didn't change the fact that they could be considered to be stalking me in some states. Sadly, this was not true for California. Besides, how can you ever like a girl who posted a picture of you in your boxers (without your permission) on her own facebook page? That was a terrible day. I was bombarded with 'You and Lissa? Nice catch, man.' From the guys, and 'You and _Lissa_? Imma kill the bitch.' From the admirers. Not a good day by anyone's standards. Well, maybe Lissa's…

"How was your spring break, Fang?" She asked.

I responded with a small shrug and a, "Fine."

"Cool. Did you go on vacay anywhere?" She smiled. I could almost like her if she didn't stalk me.

"No." Was my only response.

"Attention class! Now, I know you all have gotten used to no school and are ready for summer to be here already, but we are going to get right back into the swing of things." Fitch announced. "But first, we have a new student. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The girl snorted. "No. Not really." Attitude problem, much? Not that that wasn't normal with the type of teachers we have here at Venmore High.

Mr. Fitch looked startled, removing his normal 'History-is-fun!' expression.

"But I'll do it if you _really_ want me to." She pushed down on her desk to stand up, and then turned to face the rest of the class.

"My name is Maximum Ride. But you all can – no you all _will_ call me Max. I'm an Aquarius and I enjoy long walks on the beach."

But I was to distracted to notice her sarcasm or her potential threat. Because this girl had honey blond hair streaked with chocolate brown. This girl's gaze wasn't as hard or unforgiving as before, but I knew it was her. This girl was the girl in my dreams.


	2. Two-Faced

**Fang POV**

The entire period my gaze never drifted from the girl in my dreams. She just sat there, being completely nonchalant. As if this was just a normal day. The reasonable part of me went, _It is a normal day for her._

As I walked down the hall to my next class, I was surprised to see my eyes land on the girl. But she had changed clothes from her T-shirt and skinny jeans to a short skirt and blouse. Nevertheless, I rounded up my courage and walked over to her.

"Hi." I said to her, and she whipped around to face me.

She smiled. "Oh, hi. I'm new, I just didn't know who it was." She explained, though her voice was more high-pitched than it had been in the morning.

"You're in my first period, right?" I asked, grasping for a conversation topic.

She seemed to think about it. "I'm not sure." She said finally. I frowned, but failed to point out that I had been staring at her through the entire class.

"Well, I'm Fang." I held out my hand.

She smiled and gave me hers. "Maya. I have to get to my next class, but… see you around." She winked and began to walk down the hall. Wait… I thought she said her name was Max? And not to call her anything else?

_Girls. _I don't think I'll ever understand them.

I scanned the cafeteria for Maya/Max and finally spotted her at the popular table. I really would have gone over there to talk, I would've. But that was where the admirers sat, so I decided I couldn't risk it. I mean, come on, I just entered the cafeteria and they're already giggling and pointing at me?

Instead of heading in their direction, I headed toward my normal table with Nudge and Iggy. But as I sat down, I noticed a presence to the right of my usual spot. As I turned my head, the sight of _the girl_ shocked me. She was back in her 'Bite Me' T-shirt and skinny jeans.

I did a double take and turned to look at the girl in front of me. Then I whipped around and saw her across the room at the admirer table.

"The hell…?" I muttered.

"What's his deal?" The girl asked, turning to face Iggy.

"Not sure." Iggy shrugged, continuing to eat his sandwich. "Maybe he's having a spasm?"

"I'm not having a spasm." I snapped at Iggy. "There's just… there's two of you." I explained to the girl.

She snorted. "No there isn't." I wordlessly pointed over at the other version of her.

She just smirked. "There is one of me. And there is one of Maya. It's called being a twin. Besides, do you really think you'd catch me in a skirt that short?"

I couldn't help muttering, "I thought I already did."

"Again, that was Maya." She pointed out. "What, did she talk to you or something?"

"Actually, I talked to her." I said.

"You what?" Iggy gasped. "Since when do you engage people in conversation? What has happened to the Fang we know and love?" He dramatically collapsed into Nudge's arms.

"It's okay." Nudge cooed. "I'm sure he'll come around."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm not surprised." The girl said. "You were staring at me throughout first period."

I began to thank God that I didn't blush. "No, I wasn't."

"Suuuuure." She drawled, taking a bite out of her cookie. I shrugged and took a bite of my school-bought lunch.

"How do you eat that?" She asked, looking at my lunch in disgust.

"You learn to deal." I said. Then realized I was yet to introduce myself. "I'm Fang." I said, holding out my hand. She looked at it, but didn't shake.

"Max." She said, and then turned to Nudge. "You're friends with him?" She asked as if I weren't there.

Nudge nodded. "Well, he's more of Iggy's friend, but we're all connected. You should totally hang with us after school, Max. We're going out to Fang's house. It'll be great. Fang's mom is so nice. And she makes the best lasagna! Have you ever tried lasagna? It's so delicious and-" Iggy slapped a hand over Nudge's mouth, but still smiled.

"Looks like I'm going to your house, emo-guy." She told me, smirking once more.

"I'm not an emo." I said, irritated. "Not anymore than you're a Goth."

"Do I look Goth?" She asked. "I'm wearing color, aren't I?"

"It was more the personality." I explained.

"I could say the same." She retorted. "But I have to go tell my sister that I'll be home later than I thought I would be."

"I never agreed to letting you come." I pointed out.

"But you're going to." She said simply. I just stared at her. She was smiling- actually smiling. Like she knew she had one some kind of battle. And in a way she had, I guess.

"Fine." I muttered, but knew a smile was creeping its way onto my face.

"Want to come help break the news to my sister-dearest?" She asked me.

"Um… I don't know… that's where all of my, um, admirers sit." I said awkwardly.

She snorted. "Admirers? You're kidding?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Well, I'm not going over to Maya alone." She said, crossing her arms.

I made an observation. "You two don't seem very close."

"Nah, but not most twins aren't. Especially because we're so different, we just went different ways. It isn't very fun being compared all the time." Max said.

"Okay, let's go."

I walked by her side over to the table holding all the admirers.

"Fang!" Several of them purred, and I flinched.

"Maya." Max said as we stopped in front of them.

"Yeah, Max?" Maya asked.

Max explained how she was going over to my house – while ignoring the envious glances she was getting – after school.

"Don't blame me if mom gets pissed." Maya shrugged. "See you later, Fang." She said as we walked away from the table.

Max just shook her head. "I can't believe you have _admirers_."

"I know, right?" I asked before throwing her a small smile. We walked back to the table and began to chat with Iggy and Nudge once more.

Only in the middle of our discussions did comprehension dawn on me. I met the girl in my dreams today – and there were two of her.

That's what I told myself.

But then there was this feeling in my gut that said differently. All it said was, _There is only one. And you know which one it is._


	3. At Home

**Fang POV**

Yes, I was fairly certain that I knew which one was the girl in my dreams was. It had to be Max- there was no other option. Maya couldn't possibly pull off a glare like that.

I risked a sideways glance at Max as she shoveled down my mother's classic homemade lasagna. It was laughable, the skinny girl with the huge appetite. My mom looked on in what was partial awe and partial admiration.

"You sure can pick 'em, Fang." My mom joked, leaning over so that Max couldn't hear. I shot her a glare – one that I knew wouldn't offend her, of course – and resumed picking at my own lasagna. I, for one, had eaten enough of that lasagna before to last a lifetime. It didn't hold the same appeal anymore.

As for not offending my mom, I couldn't help it. I was what you could call a pure 'Momma's Boy' and I freely admit it. Growing up with no father, seeing as he left when I was two, I felt obliged to be close to my mom.

"How can you eat that much?" Nudge asked in shock. "You didn't have lunch that long ago. This was just supposed to be a snack."

Max looked up for once from her heaping plate. "Are you kidding? This is just a snack. I'll have dinner later. As for lunch, that was forever ago, back at school."

"It was only a couple hours ago." I pointed out, earning only a smirk from Max.

"As I said, _forever ago_."

"Well, this dispute is getting a bit boring for moi," Iggy interrupted, "what do you guys want to do?" As if sensing her cue to leave and let the teenagers 'have their fun', my mom walked out of the room.

"Let's just talk." Nudge supplied cheerfully. "We can get to know Max better, right?" Max shifted uncomfortably, unnoticeable to anyone but someone watching for it. And that person happened to be me.

"Talking isn't my forte." I commented, knowing that this 'talking' idea would turn into a one-sided conversation between Nudge and… well, herself.

"You're getting the hang of it, buddy." Max clapped me on the back, all traces of discomfort somehow now gone. "That's four words already."

"So, Max, where'd you move from? What's it like? Did you have friends? Did you have a boyfriend?" Nudge pressed eagerly.

"Arizona. It's really hot. Here in California isn't much different, just a bit less humid. I was kind of a loner. I guess I had a boyfriend for a couple months. Didn't last." She shrugged, going through answers like a flipbook. Either she was a very simple and open person, or she was hiding something. Though I didn't have any evidence, I highly expected the latter as being the case.

"Can you act? Or sing? We could really use some more help in the next play. I don't see why no one is volunteering." Iggy shook his head. "It's _Legally Blond_. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?"

Max stared at him as if he were an alien from another planet. "_Legally Blond_? You're joking. Not even something corny like _Romeo and Juliet_?"

Iggy waved his hand in dismissal. "That was so junior year. I was Romeo, trust me, I remember. Anyway, Whaddaya say, Max?" He winked at her and smiled grandly.

"No." Max said flatly. "I don't act. Or sing for that matter. I'm pretty sure I sound like a strangled cat." She snorted, not seeming to care that her reference was actually quite violent.

"And you know what a strangled cat sounds like?" I responded, matching her dry tone.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Nudge's face was priceless. She looked mortified. "Uh… moving on." She attempted to recover from the strangled cat issue. "Well, uh, do you play any sports? Anything recreational?"

"I'm okay at running."

"Really?" Iggy's eyes widened. "Well, Sir Fangsalot here is on both the track and cross country team. Maybe he could get you a late tryout?" Iggy attempted to covertly wink in my direction. Key word: attempted. He looked like he had an eye-twitch. If I wasn't used to keeping my emotions bottled up so tightly, I most likely would have laughed.

Max, on the other hand, did laugh. So hard she began to choke. On what, you ask? To be honest, I have no idea. But somehow, Max had managed the impossible and was currently choking on the thin air.

Nudge seemed scared and patted her back lightly as if she were petting a dog, instead of trying to pound the coughs out of her system. Without a second thought, I strode over and whacked Max on the back with enough force to get the choking to stop. On the bright side of things, Max stopped choking. On the dark side, my whack had caused her to topple over.

"God, Fang." She said, glaring harshly at me as she stood up (refusing my offer to help). "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to hit a girl?" She asked sarcastically.

"I'm sorry." I replied in the same manner. "I was only trying to save your life. I guess I misjudged that as being qualified as important."

Max only rolled her eyes at my rebuttal. "Whatever." She muttered darkly before staring out the window in my room.

"Um… guys?" Nudge asked weakly. "We're all friends here. I say we all go down to the Corner Market to get some Klondike Bars." Corner Market was the convenience store only a block away from my house, which was quite convenient after all.

"Sure." Iggy replied happily, unaffected by my sudden quarrel with Max. "What would you do-oo-ooo for a Klondike Bar?" He sang cheerfully, grabbing Nudge's arm forcefully and dragging her after him.

Max, seemingly once more well composed, began to stride after them, and I kept pace with her.

"Sorry." I said slowly. "I didn't mean to knock you over."

She looked up, as if surprised I had apologized. "It's fine." She narrowed her eyes a bit, like she was remembering something. Suddenly, she snapped out of her quick trance. "Just… don't do it again." She quickened her pace so that she was in line with Nudge and Iggy.

It was quite obvious I had hit a nerve with Max. The only question now was… what was it?


	4. Mystery and Intrigue

**Fang POV**

I silently slipped into my seat next to Max in first period. She seemed completely absorbed by whatever was on her paper, so I was hesitant to bother her. Hell, I was hesitant when anything came to Max since yesterday. How could you not be? After our 'fight', everything had smoothed out. Max joked, Iggy was dramatic, Nudge talked, and I – well, I listened to them do those things. I was still a bit on edge, though.

"What's up?" I asked, aiming for nonchalant, though I wasn't sure if I had landed anywhere near.

"Not much." She muttered, still concentrated on the paper she was currently sketching on.

"What are you drawing?" I was grasping at straws here. Starting conversation had always been more than a bit of a problem for me, yet here I sit, trying to do it just so I could figure out at least a little of what Max was thinking.

Max lifted her head for the first time that morning. "You wanna see it?"

"Sure." I shrugged.

"Well, it's a bit weird, but-"

"Fang-y!" Lissa squealed from behind. I didn't even have to look; I knew it was her.

After a long internal groan, I settled for a grudging, "Hi, Lissa."

"Um…" Max looked a bit uncomfortable and it surprised me. For the short time I had known Max – though it felt like centuries – I had never thought she'd have a side that wasn't supremely confident. As if sensing my thought process, she straightened up almost immediately. "Hi, I'm Max." She held her hand out for Lissa to shake.

Lissa looked at her hand, like shaking hands was some foreign concept. Her eyes shifted from Max to me and back to Max. I could nearly hear her thinking, _So this is the competition, huh? _Though it seemed quite evident now that Lissa wasn't shaking, Max kept her hand out, as if challenging Lissa somehow.

Finally, Lissa gave in and shook. "I'm Lissa. You're Maya's twin, right?" Max nodded. "Well, I didn't know you knew Fang. Fang and I are close friends, though. Right, Fang?" She looked toward me for confrontation. I could sense Max knew this was one of the admirers by the smug smile on her face and she watched me struggle not to lead Lissa on.

"Well, we've been friends since practically forever. Since when I moved here in 3rd grade." She stated proudly. I let out a gust of breath in relief; glad she hadn't waited for my answer. When I finally noticed the possessive note in her statement, I had trouble controlling my anger. What don't these girls get?

"Yep." Max smiled smugly once more. "I can see you two have an _unbreakable_ bond."

"Miss Ride! I will ask you to be quiet in class. Since you are new, this is a warning, but if I catch any antics in the future, I will not hesitate to send you to the principal's office."

"I'm so scared." Max muttered under her breath and I shot her a half smile, partly because the comment was funny, partly because she had dropped the Lissa subject. I had never been so thankful that a teacher had caught me or my friends in my life.

"Whaddaya think, Fang?" Nudge finished her rant, which I was aware had started with a debate on bananas versus apples, but I was unaware on where it had gone from there. I had mostly been subconsciously studying Max, though it sounded creepy. It was just an instinct. I couldn't figure her out- why not try to?

"Um… bananas."

Nudge sighed, most likely realizing that I had not been paying attention. "We were talking about that concert this Friday? You know, the local band? The Racers? They're playing and my dad said he got tickets for me and my friends. I was wondering if you could come?" The local band had never really fascinated me, probably because their music wasn't my type. I thought through options to say no to her.

"Max and Iggy already agreed. I kind of need an answer because my dad says he can still sell the extra tickets. I mean, what good does that do, though? They weren't _that _expensive, but I guess every little penny counts, so that means…" I was lost after that, but did understand that Max would be coming to this event.

"I'll go." I said when Nudge had finished talking.

Iggy eyed me suspiciously. "I thought for sure you were going to say no. You hate that type of music." Iggy wasn't exactly a perceptive guy, but he knew a lot about me. More than anyone else, probably.

I shrugged, reverting to my answer for most things. Iggy sighed while Max rolled her eyes; they both knew that was all they were going to get out of me.

"Oh my gosh, Iggy!" Nudge exclaimed suddenly. "Sign ups for the school carwash! We have to go." Nudge said adamantly, pulling on his arm and pointing to a yellow sign up sheet. I was confused for the moment- Nudge was exactly a workhorse; she wasn't going to voluntarily clean anything. Iggy looked helplessly up at her until suddenly a glint caught his eye and I could've sworn he held back a snigger.

"Okay," Iggy sing-songed. "Let's go."

"What's their deal?" I muttered, more to myself than to Max as I refocused on my lunch for the day. More leftover lasagna. Way to be creative, mom.

"They're trying to get us together." Max stated matter-of-factly. I spluttered at her answer, choking on the water I had started drinking. It took me a while to right myself.

"What?" I exclaimed, my voice having more inflection than it did only two seconds before.

"It's not a big deal." Max rolled her eyes. "Nudge thinks she's this magic matchmaker. I can see the fairytale in her eyes." Max chomped down on her french-fry.

"I'm going to kill Iggy."

"Would dating me really be that bad?" She challenged. I stared at her, not knowing how I should react to such a comment.

"Well, no, but-"

"Well, there you have it. We're officially dating, boyfriend." A smile tugged at her lips as she tried to pull off a serious expression.

"I will not enter a fake relationship with you, Max." I answered sternly as I could.

"Who said it was fake?"

With that comment, I stared at Max. Full on stared. She did the same, narrowing her eyes, as if searching for something that was inside me. The staring went on for a while before Max started cracking up.

"Ah, that was good." She said, still laughing. She wiped a nonexistent tear from her cheek.

"Well, anyway, you want to see my drawing, now?" I nodded, internally frowning and wondering why she would just bring that up, now of all times.

"Here." She tossed a folded up paper at me and I caught it with ease. She started to walk away. "See you later, Fang." She called over her shoulder. I didn't question where she was going, though it was truly a mystery to me.

Slowly, I unfolded the paper, not sure what to anticipate. With Max, she could've drawn a strangled cat or something of the sort.

When the paper was entirely unfolded, Nudge, Iggy, Max, and I were there on the paper, staring up at me. I was furthest right, then Max, Iggy, and Nudge. We all stood in normal stances and wore normal clothes, but what got to me truly were our features.

We all had wings. Mine were dark, somewhat resembling a raven's wings. Max's resembled what I could only compare to an eagle. Iggy's and Nudge's were harder and I couldn't pinpoint a species they would've been. Iggy's were a pale gray and Nudge's a light brown, tinted with peach.

Max was a mystery; I'd give her that. But I was out to solve her. With me on the case, it couldn't be that long, could it?


	5. Notes

The Girl In My Dreams 

Chapter Five

**Fang POV**

I was absolutely certain there was something darker to Max than her bitterness and sarcasm. Or at least, something that wasn't natural. Not something as simple as her hair color, or anything, but something that I couldn't exactly put my finger on.

Was it the way she looked? Or the way she acted? The fact that she was part of my dreams was just suspicious.

The more I thought about it, the more it irked me. Girls had always seemed easy to read. Some were into fashion and makeup, some were into sports, and the others just had individual obsessions. Max was different.

She wasn't a 'tough chick with a motorcycle', nor was she obsessed with anything from what I could tell.

But it was obvious she had a goal. And even though I had only known her for a few days, and there was no reason I should know her intents, I felt that it wouldn't matter if I had known Max forever; I would never know her objectives.

That was just intuition speaking, so it wasn't necessarily true that Max had other motives. Intuition has been wrong before.

So why couldn't I shake this?

I decided to box up my thoughts for a while. My last period was coming up, and since I had day-dreamed through the previous ones, it seemed to be my duty to actually pay attention in one class.

If you didn't know this already, paying attention is way harder when something interesting is on your mind. _Especially_ when you're in a boring class.

Spanish was my (required) last class of the day. An old woman named Mrs. Window the Widow taught it, and believe me when I say she made half the class doze off. All she talked about was linguistics in Spanish and how they compared to English linguistics. And for someone who's got a C- in English, those classes are both boring and difficult to understand.

Max, however, seemed to breeze through it. She never copied down notes or reviewed her work for mistakes. All the same, she made Mrs. Window the Widow laugh in delight when she saw Max's paper. "You and I have much to talk about!" She beamed.

After that period, I cornered Max. I needed to get on Mrs. Window the Widow's good side. "What made her happy?"

Max shrugged. "I just said some things in Spanish. My mom grew up in Mexico, so I know the language pretty well." Max eyed me up for a bit before she passed a knowing smirk at me.

"What?"

"You're trying to get her to like you so she can raise your grade." Max didn't say it like a question. She just knew the answer. "Well, I can tell you that she's a lunatic and it would be stupid to try to get her to like you. And when I say stupid, I mean, like, offering your hand to a shark stupid."

Max brushed past me and I was left alone in the classroom.

Which left me to my thinking. And in events where you are suspicious of a potential friend, your brain isn't exactly your friend.

And since your brain is the thing controlling you, I ended up following Max to her house. What would I find there? No idea, but at best it was what she said, at worse it was a secret murder house.

I stayed three cars behind her as she zoomed to the downtown area of the town. I lived in the suburban area, which was thirty minutes from the hype. Well, I would lose some time for homework and I certainly wouldn't have time to drop down at Iggy's like had planned to, but that was ok.

Max parked her motorcycle at the curb of a dark neighborhood. Cautiously, she looked around the area before going into the alley.

I left my Jeep just behind Max's car. My skills to become practically invisible were helpful here.

I saw Max walk into a large abandoned building that looked as ratty as could be. For a few seconds I waited, but then I grew impatient and followed her in.

Max was nowhere to be seen. I was alone in a dark, moldy building with just a table and a note. The table nondescript and dusty, but the note was peculiar. It sparked my interest with a new vigor.

It had been written by Max, that much was obvious. The handwriting matched her fluid handwork. But how could Max write something so simple and complex at the same time? I didn't understand what she meant or whom she was writing too, but it was obvious that she expected someone else.

The note read:

_I know you followed me here. What do you want? You know I'm doing my job, so why bother me? If you think I'm going to act up again, I promise you I won't. You know that as long as Angel, Gazzy, and I get what we were promised, nothing bad will happen. If you have any doubts, meet me at the car lot at five. I'll assure you nothing is going on. If you don't show up, then I'll just assume you're okay with this note. _

Gazzy and Angel? Who were they? Max had said nothing of either.

This note confirmed what I had suspected. Max was mixed up in something, and whether it was good or bad, it was obvious Max was the one at the bad end of the deal. The note had made that clear.

It had also told me that Max was gone, and sure enough, when I walked outside, her motorcycle had disappeared. This was all I'd get out of her today, especially since I wasn't so sure about that whole car lot thing.

I rode my Jeep all the way home, where I proceeded to do homework and take a shower before investigating my case on the internet.  
First I searched _Girl Appears In Dreams, _but that got me a bunch of weird links, including one that led to a website called **"Hot **Girls **Dream **Too**"**. That pretty much ended that search.

Next I looked up _Mystery Girl From Dreams Appears in Real Life_. There was nothing good there either, because everybody who wrote about an experience like mine was on Yahoo!, and people on Yahoo! Tell all sorts of lies.

The third search hit the jackpot, though. I only typed in _Dream Girl is Reality_ to find something that surprised me.

It was a newspaper article from 2008. The author was a reporter from a big magazine brand, so it was pretty reliable, I thought.

The article itself was short, just a picture and a caption, but it was so amazing. The picture was blurry, but I was still able to make out a large, tubular, metal device and a girl standing inside of the machine. The caption read, _The large company known as Itex claims its new machine has the power to present people inside a selected person's dreams. _

Itex had shut down a long time ago, in 2010, but that didn't make this more astonishing. On impulse I called, "Mom, come here!"

She arrived a second later. I eagerly motioned to the picture and caption. "Do you think it's real?"

She considered it for a second before replying, "No, honey, I don't think so. Stuff like that just doesn't happen."

I wouldn't take no for an answer. Not in this situation. "Are you 100%, completely sure?"

"Yes, I am." I could see my mom knew where this was going, so she exited the room immediately.

But I didn't believe my mom's answer. How could I? What if this was the secret to Max?

I was so eager to understand, and I fell asleep as soon as I could to see if Max would be in my dreams.

_She was there. But this time, it wasn't the same as before. This time, she had a message. "Stay out of my business," she told me. "Before it comes back to haunt you." _

But when I woke up, it wasn't the message that haunted me. It was the half-dead child in her arms.

* * *

**Yeah! It's my first chapter! Woohoo! All thanks to the previous author for giving me this. I have a great idea for this!**


	6. Dangerous

**Does anybody love the cover for this story? I do! All of it was done by I Was Divided By Zero, so if you want an awesome cover for your story, PM her!**

* * *

The Girl In My Dreams

Chapter Six

**Fang POV**

Even though I was a few minutes from being late, I still couldn't pull myself out of bed. I knew that I was being over-obsessed over a dream, and that was stupid, but after seeing a dead child in Max's arms, I really didn't want to face her. And that's not even adding the note to the creepiness.

To be honest, the only reason I got out of bed was because the school was holding a bake sale. And I'm not sure if they hire a special chef to make the cakes or not, but the food tastes magical.

After slipping on jeans and my signature black tee shirt, I drove to school.

I'm just going to start by saying that was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done.

First of all, I did not expect Lissa to be waiting for me. She was just leaning on her Audi, right next to the only parking slot left. In other words, she was forcing me to be near her.

Second of all, I also did not expect the principal to be sitting at the gateway of the school. And if the first one wasn't bad enough, it also made it look like I had skipped out on the beginning of class to be with Lissa.

The principal held her clipboard tightly. "Fang," She greeted me. "I see you are late today."

I held back a gulp. Valencia Martinez was not someone you messed with. "Uhh . . . my alarm wasn't working."

Mrs. Martinez looked at me like she knew I was lying. She eyed Lissa critically, taking in the obvious: Lissa was one of those mess-around girls, and she took a lot of boys victim, despite being an admirer. "Then I think it's time you get a new alarm clock. Mommy won't be able to wake you up every time you're late."

I knew what she was thinking, and even though I would never hang out with Lissa, especially in that way, there was no deterring Mrs. Martinez from her thoughts.

I tried to tell Mrs. Martinez the truth. "No, I just got up behind schedule."

She stared at me coldly. "Clearly. I just find it suspicious that up until today when you are with Lissa, you have had almost perfect attendance."

It looked like there was no escape. I was going through the interrogation of the principal.

"Wait! Wait!" Max's voice echoed down the hallway. She came to a halt at Mrs. Martinez's feet. "I'm the reason Fang's late! I told him I needed a few papers for English class, and he promised to get them."

I inspected the girl in front of me. I had realized that she was Maya by this point. I wasn't stupid enough to think Max would talk in a way that didn't offend at least one person in the conversation.

Mrs. Martinez seemed to trust Maya, because she grudgingly let us go to class.

For a second, I was thankful that I had escaped my doom. It was then I noticed that Maya and Lissa were the same type, and both of them were part of the admirer group.

Maya clung to me just as tightly as Lissa did. Some people would say she clung to me _more_ tightly than Lissa.

I was steered to my first period class by two annoying girls, wishing the entire time that it had been Max, not Maya, that had found me.

I was grateful for the fact that they dropped me off at my class instead of forcing me down lengths of the school with them. However, when I entered the class, I was not grateful for the look I received from the teacher.

Lissa and Maya were evil.

Max was sitting at the only open desk. I plopped down beside her with a frown as large as Texas. She just laughed silently and pushed a paper towards me.

On the note she had written _Maya and Lissa? And don't lie; I saw the whole thing. _I replied, all while looking at that handwriting. It was the same as the other note's.

_Yes, the she-devils did accompany me._ I wrote back.

She responded with _Haha. Tell me, Fangypoo, did you like my drawing?_

Max was opening up to my response. I had a chance of getting information from her. _Yeah, I did. But why did you draw it? Why wings?_

When I passed the note to Max, I saw panic flash over her.

That was a clue, but what did it mean? Why would somebody be so scared of a person questioning her drawing?

Max hastily wrote back. _I just thought wings would look cool. Can't you imagine what it would be like to fly? Before my little brother was put in custody of my dad, all he'd ever wish for was to fly._

Max had a brother? That was news to me. _Brother? You never me told me about him._

Max got this wistful look in her eye. Her emotions were displayed on her face, and for one moment, she was easy to read. I could see her longing for her brother, her sadness for her parents' situation . . . she snapped out of her daze before I could decipher anymore.

With more vigor than I had seen before, she drove her pencil across the paper. The paper was slammed in front of me so that I could make out the words. _This conversation is over. _

When Max tore the paper away from me, the look in her eyes was as cold as they were in my dreams. She was the Max that I had known forever in my mind.

She opened her mouth to speak the words I had been dying to hear.

My mind kept telling me that this was it, this was the moment I'd learn what she was going to say. She started to say something, her voice hard and unfeeling.

It was in that second that our teacher decided to look at us. "Fang! Max!" She shrilled in her harpy voice. "Give me that!" She grabbed up the paper in Max's hand.

"Let us see what we have here, hmm?" Her squawking thundered across the room. The woman stared straight into my soul. "Gossiping, perhaps? Or complaining, maybe? To the principal's with you!"

Max protested, "You didn't even read the note!"

I nudged her in the side. "Max, we should listen to her." I whispered in her ear.

Max glared at me. She stood up slowly and made her way to the front of the room. With her hands on her hips, she started her speech, looking at me the whole time. "Does anybody in this room know anything about authority? Raise your hand if you do." A girl in the back raised her hand, but Max promptly ignored her.

"No, you don't. None of you know anything about _authority. _Well, guess what? Authority doesn't exist. Yes, there are the people you may believe to be good idols, but you are wrong. Authority twists your mind. It changes your soul into what it wants you to be.

"I don't give a damn about the law or jurisdiction. Nor do I care a scintilla about you, teacher darling. That is how I have lived my life. It is in that way, and _only _that way, that I have survived on this planet."

She continued her tirade while the teacher sat, dumbfounded. "When they say it is a dog-eat-dog world, they are not lying. Whatever you think we did to stay safe and nice, to be at the top of this food chain . . . we didn't do any of it by being nice.

"So you have to decide. Are you going to be at the top of the pyramid? Or are you going to lie low because you never did anything to defy authority? Ask yourself that question." For a moment she turned and faced the teacher, but then her eyes were back on me, as cold as ever. "Because until you know where you stand, you do not have the right to criticize me."

I think there was never a moment where a teacher had hated a student so much as mine did then. If looks could kill, Max would be on the floor.

But with as much nonchalance as ever, Max returned the glare. It was at that moment that I realized something I hadn't completely understood before.

Max wasn't normal by any standards. She was overly zealous about the wrong things in life, but it was more than that. She wasn't just a person not to be messed with, she was dangerous.

I liked dangerous.


	7. Skateboards and Feathers

Sorry it's been so long. I've been DJing on my computer. I created some pretty awesome mixes! Now, as I have stated before, I do not own Maximum Ride. I don't own Ralph's or Bob's Big Boy, either.

* * *

Girl in My Dreams

After that tirade, Max decided to retire to the skateboard shop. "They're going to send me to the detention anyways, so I might as well enjoy the rest of my day. What say you, Fangalator?"

"Fangalator?" I asked incredulously. I had a lot of weird nicknames in my life, but at least some of them were logical. This nickname sounded like a cross between an evil machine that killed people and a Vegas showgirl.

Max shrugged, not noticing my reaction. "Why not? It's perfectly fine. Besides, you didn't answer my question. Will you or will you not come with me to the skate shop?"

I made a pained face. "Max, do you even know how to skateboard? I've been trying to learn for three years and can't get the hang of it."

Max screamed loudly and everyone turned his or her heads towards us. She pointed at me dramatically. "You said more than two words! I think the world is ending!"

Iggy came bounding up after us. "So," he commented, Nudge following behind him. "Fang finally learned how to talk properly. Congrats, dude, never thought you could do it!"

"Did you really just say 'dude'? Only Californians say 'dude'." Nudge said in a surprisingly short second.

"Amen, sista!" Max declared, tilting her head to the sky as she yelled. In that moment, she looked so zany, so crazy . . . so normal. If I hadn't had the dreams and hadn't known her, I would've thought she was an average girl. And in a way, I guess she was.

Even people who lived double lives had a normal side to their life. Maybe this was Max's. And when I wasn't trying to find out the other side of Max, I certainly enjoyed hanging around with her.

Max blocked me as I turned to enter a classroom "Fang, have you been zoning out on me? Uncool, man, uncool. In all seriousness, though, are you going to come to the skate shop? Nudge has agreed to it if I'll go with her to grocery store after this. Iggy's all in, too, but we're all waiting for your reply."

Iggy leaned in in anticipation. Nudge looked at me hopefully, and Max just raised an eyebrow. I couldn't stand the pressure. "Ugh," I moaned in defeat. "Ok."

"Great!" Max squealed excitedly. Iggy grabbed my arm and–whoa, whoa, whoa, backtrack! Did Max just squeal? In excitement? That was so out of character for her. In fact, everything after the tirade had been super out of character (aside from skipping school, but I supposed defying orders came naturally).

Huh . . . "Are you high?" I blurted out. Then I face-palmed, as they do in stories. Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I have asked that?

Everyone got all quiet all the sudden. I feared Max would grow angry and do something irrational. Nudge certainly looked like she would.

_Fang,_ she mouthed to me. _What is wrong with you? Are you crazy? You never ask–_

Nudge's silent words were cut off by Max's booming laughter. "Am I high? Sorry to disappoint you Fang, but I am not high. I'm not risking my future for white-out."

Nudge looked surprised by her nonchalant brush off of my comment. Nudge was used to girls that were tenser and touchy, so Max's casualty was totally unexpected.

"So, Your Graciousness, are you going with us?" Max was waiting impatiently next to Iggy. How she had hopped from one subject to the next so quickly was amazing.

I sighed in defeat. "If I must . . ." I trailed off, hoping somebody would save me from the pressure.

Max smiled in triumph. "Great!" She exclaimed. She skipped down the hallway, knocking down those who got in her way.

"She's one of a kind, isn't she?" A blond boy appeared next to me, staring at Max's fading figure.

This day could not be weirder. "Ugh . . . I guess so." In my defense, I wasn't used to strangers just coming up and talking to me. So obviously my sentence material wasn't as great as if this had been somebody I was comfortable with.

"The name's Dylan," He extended his hand as if expecting me to shake it. Little did he know, I was secretly a total jerk, and I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Whoa, chill out! I'm not gonna pull you into a bear hug."

I don't know why, but some part of me just instantly disliked Dylan. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but there was something about him . . .

I just walked past the guy, acting like he hadn't just pulled me over and that we had no connection or link whatsoever.

Iggy and Nudge were waiting in the parking lot with Max. The couple had evaded Dylan, where as I had not, and were there earlier than I was.

Max hopped on her motorcycle as soon as I arrived. "Remember," she directed me as she revved the engine. "Go past the Bob's Big Boy and to the empty lot with the yellow flowers. Then go left and somebody will put a bandana over your head. It'll be ok, though, so don't scream. They'll walk you to the secret shop with the skateboards. I'll be there waiting for you." She left as soon as she had finished her paragraph.

Nudge looked uncertain. "When she said skateboard shop, I thought she meant the one by the Ralph's. Iggy, I'm not so sure about this. What if they sell drugs at this place? Then I'll lose all my dignity and pride, and you know that's what's most important to me."

Iggy pulled her up to him. He whispered to her, "It's going to be ok. Please, don't worry about this. Fang's not afraid, I'm not afraid, and you don't need to be scared. Besides, you trust Max, don't you?"

Nudge went still. "Iggy . . . I do, but I'm not sure if I should." She said it quietly in his ear, hoping I wouldn't hear. "I think Fang likes her and all, and I do, too, but I don't think we should do this."

Iggy looked at her lovingly. "I promise you that you will not get hurt. Have I ever broken a promise before?"

Oh no. The moment he said that, I knew this was going nowhere good. Iggy had broken tons of promises before, and Nudge took vows very seriously.

"Actually, you have. Once when you told me you wouldn't ditch me for Fang, another time when you swore you wouldn't crash my car, a third time when you said you would make me a love song, a fourth when–"

"Ok, so maybe my track record isn't the greatest, but you can trust me on this one."

We were never going to get to the shop at this rate. Well, they weren't. I was going to get a nice, badass skateboard.

I locked my car doors before buckling up. I knew that the moment they heard my engine, Iggy and Nudge would come sprinting towards me. But hey, it was their own faults that got them in this situation.

* * *

I arrived at the store with no disturbances. Max wasn't focusing on our appearance in particular when I got there, so I caught her at a candid moment.

I could try to describe what Max was like when I saw her, but I can't. The look on her face was so heartbroken and demonic that it shocked me to the core. And it was obvious that it was because of something she knew well.

In her hands was a feather, one that matched her wings in her drawing. Except, this feather wasn't paper. It was real.


	8. The Reality of Dreams

**Fang's POV**

"Max?" I called out to her. She must have heard me, because she turned quickly to face me. Her arms pulled the feather behind her back, where it was completely obscured from my view.

"Fang," She let out a puff of air. Her words were breathy, startled. "I can explain."

She heard the suspicion in my voice, I was sure. But I wasn't sure why she thought I would need an explanation for her holding a giant feather. "No, no. There's no need. I'm just curious; which bird did you get that from?"

Relief washed over Max's face. "I don't know. I found it in the park the other day. I've just been observing it."

I snatched the feather from Max. It was beautiful. "We could send this in to some DNA scanner place. Maybe they would tell us what it was." I offered.

"No!" The panic was back on Max. "We can't send in that feather. It's precious to me. Please, let me have it."

She sure was protective of that thing. "Ok, ok. I won't touch it, I promise."

Nudge and Iggy traipsed to where Max and I were. Max grabbed the feather and stuffed it in her back pocket. "Hey," Iggy growled. "Somebody here does not know their manners!"

I smirked cockily. "I know, Iggy. Why didn't you ever ask your mom to help you out with that?"

Iggy cracked a smile, but Nudge's mouth was set in a hard line. "Not cool! I can't believe you would just leave me in the dust!"

Iggy protested. "Hey, what about me? You weren't all alone! You had me. I'm your boyfriend!"

Nudge gave him a full-on glare. "You won't be if you don't get a decent mode of transportation." She stalked off, looking to find a skateboard.

Iggy sighed in defeat. "She only wants me for my mom's Bugatti . . ." He made a fake tear pop out of his eye. "Oh, my heart is so broken! Why can't she settle for the station wagon?"

Max laughed. "Hey, Iggy, I thought she told you to get a decent mode of transportation. Well, look around. Where are we?"

"Yeah, every girl's dream: Being driven to a movie on a motorcycle."

Max put her hands on her hips in defense. "That sounds cool enough to me! I . . ." The words faded out as my mind took over my body. My hands reached towards Max's back pocket. She was too busy to notice anything.

I could never figure out why I did it, but I reached my fingers out and stole the feather. I didn't know why I had taken it from Max, I just felt this urge to have it.

As soon as I had stolen the feather, I announced that I felt sick, and was leaving.

* * *

Eight hours later, I was sitting at my computer, searching for birds with large feathers. A few notable ones came up, but no feathers besides the ones of a hawk matched, and a hawk was much to small to have created the feather.

I was so tired of all the confusion Max was giving me. I plopped down on the bed and sighed loudly. Why was everything so complicated? Did there really have to be two Max's? Did there have to be a Max at all?

Okay, that last one was cruel, but I wouldn't have minded Maya getting out of my life.

I took a last moment before falling asleep.

* * *

Once again, Max graced my dreams. Her eyes were as cold as ever, and her mouth was set in a hard, thin line. "Fang!" She yelled at me. "Give me back my feather!"

In the dream, a character identical to myself represented me. Dream me shook his head to Max's demands. Logical me, which was not present at the time, panicked.

Max swung at me. Her fist landed on my cheek, leaving an angry mark. As soon as she had made the bruise, though, she dropped to the ground.

"Shit! What have I done? No, no, no, no! Jeb's going to kill me!" She looked up at me, who was staring at her in wonder. "Fang," She pleaded. "Fang, at least give me back the feather. Please."

Max began to glow. Her body was fading from the dream, and all that was left was the echoes of her pleas.

* * *

I woke up with a gigantic lesion on my cheek. Amazingly, it was right where Max's fist had been.

Which made no sense. Because that was a dream.

I planned to confront Max about it, ask her if she knew anything. I knew what her answer would be. I could almost hear it. "Fang, do I look like a dream to you? Actually, don't answer that."

Except when I got to school, she wasn't there. "Hey," Nudge greeted. "Have you seen Max? She promised me she would talk boys with me."

"I haven't. Did she tell you why she's not here?" I asked.

Nudge looked at me like I was stupid. "If I knew why Max wasn't here, do you think I'd be worried?"

"I'll take that as a no." Maya and Lissa made their way over to me. "Nudge, protect me!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a drama queen, Fang! They don't bite." Nudge winked at me and then left me to my resources.

Lissa purred, "Fang, how are you today?" She and Maya advanced on me.

"Fine, thanks." With every step I took away from them, they took two forward. "Would you know where I could find Max?"

The girls narrowed their eyes. "Why would you want to know where Max is?" Maya hissed.

"Just want to speak to her. So, do you?" I asked nervously. I tried to make my way over to the locker room, so that I could escape, but I wouldn't put it past them to come in after me.

Lissa smiled evilly and put a manicured hand on my shoulder. "I think we can say that Max is being punished right now."

"Punished for what?"

Lissa touched her hand to my cheek. "What do you think she's being punished for?"

* * *

_I've been busy doing things! Sorry it took so long!_


End file.
